Forecast

Movies 0317

March 17, 2017

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"Beauty and the Beast"

"Beauty and the Beast"

With Emma Watson starring as Belle, this live-action version of Disney’s beloved 1991 animated musical is a can’t-miss proposition, drawing as it does on Disney princess and Harry Potter fan bases. As it turns out, the movie also is really good. It "has the feeling of old-fashioned Hollywood grandeur, calling to mind Technicolor extravaganzas such as 'The Sound of Music" even as it's loaded with the best of modern effects and techniques," writes film critic Mick LaSalle in his four-star review, which calls “B&B” “one of the joys of 2017.” ****

With Emma Watson starring as Belle, this live-action version of Disney’s beloved 1991 animated musical is a can’t-miss proposition, drawing as it does on Disney princess and Harry Potter fan bases. As it ... more

With Emma Watson starring as Belle, this live-action version of... Photo-12566741.142684 - seattlepi.com

Photo: Walt Disney Pictures, TNS

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"The Sense of an Ending"

"The Sense of an Ending"

Life seems to be resting in its final groove for London shop owner Tony (Jim Broadbent). He chats with his ex-wife and dotes on his grown daughter, who is expecting a child. Then he gets an unexpected jolt when a former college crush (Charlotte Rampling) re-enters his life, stirring up memories he had suppressed. “A Sense of Ending” is “well-acted, understated and British to the core,” writes critic Walter Addiego, and one of its chief pleasures is watching Broadbent and Rampling work together. ***

Life seems to be resting in its final groove for London shop owner Tony (Jim Broadbent). He chats with his ex-wife and dotes on his grown daughter, who is expecting a child. Then he gets an unexpected jolt when ... more

Life seems to be resting in its final groove for London shop owner... Photo-12566739.142684 - seattlepi.com

Photo: Robert Viglasky, CBS Films

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"The Last Word"

"The Last Word"

What do you want your obituary to say? Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) is rich and obsessive enough to get a sneak peak by having a young writer (Amanda Seyfried) assigned to work it up in advance. She doesn’t like the results, so Harriet tries -- very late in the game, it’s true -- to change her life in order to change how she’s remembered. The result is a heartstring-tugging comedy that, according to LaSalle, takes “womanhood and personal fulfillment seriously and provides a decent showcase for an 82-year-old screen legend.” **

What do you want your obituary to say? Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) is rich and obsessive enough to get a sneak peak by having a young writer (Amanda Seyfried) assigned to work it up in advance. She doesn’t ... more

It’s “Battle Royale” at the workplace, and definitely a problem for HR, when a morning announcement on the intercom tasks white-collar workers at a U.S. company’s overseas division with killing each other. The script is by the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” who used to be a horror guy (see “Slither”). The most familiar faces in the cast belong to Michael Rooker of “The Walking Dead” and John C. McGinley from “Scrubs.” Our critics didn’t watch this; the ones who did are divided between those who like a good bloodbath and those who find that kind of thing deplorable. less

It’s “Battle Royale” at the workplace, and definitely a problem for HR, when a morning announcement on the intercom tasks white-collar workers at a U.S. company’s overseas division with killing each ... more